Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3010, Australia.
Dental School, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4781176, Chile.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 13;20(4):3251. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20043251.
Early childhood caries (ECC) is a worldwide public health problem. The biological and behavioural determinants that are directly involved in ECC have been well documented; however, evidence on the effects of some psychosocial factors remains conflicting. This study aimed to assess the association between child temperament and ECC in Chilean preschoolers. Prior approval of the protocol was obtained from the ethics committee of Universidad de La Frontera (Folio N° 020_17), and all of those involved in the study provided signed informed consent forms. The cross-sectional study was conducted with 172 children aged 3 to 5 years attending preschools in Temuco, Chile. Each child's temperament was assessed based on parents' responses to the Early Childhood Behaviour Questionnaire. The outcomes assessed were caries prevalence and caries experience (dmft scores). The covariates included were socioeconomic position, cariogenic diet, prolonged breastfeeding, presence of dental plaque and hypoplasia. Logistic regression models were used to predict caries prevalence and negative binomial regression for caries experience. The prevalence of ECC was 29.1%, and the most frequent child temperament was 'effortful control'. Regression model analyses, adjusting for covariates, showed no evidence of an association between any domain of children's temperament (surgency, negative affect and effortful control) with the prevalence of caries or caries experience. This cross-sectional study found no association between childhood temperament and ECC in preschool children for this population. However, due to the specificity of this population, the association cannot be entirely ruled out. Further studies are needed to help understand the association between temperament and oral health, including the influences of family environment factors and culture.
儿童早期龋（ECC）是一个全球性的公共卫生问题。与 ECC 直接相关的生物学和行为学决定因素已得到充分证实；然而，一些社会心理因素的影响证据仍然存在冲突。本研究旨在评估智利学龄前儿童的儿童气质与 ECC 之间的关联。该研究方案已获得 Universidad de La Frontera 伦理委员会的事先批准（编号 020_17），所有参与研究的人员均提供了签署的知情同意书。本横断面研究共纳入 172 名 3 至 5 岁在智利特木科上幼儿园的儿童。根据家长对早期儿童行为问卷的回答，评估每个孩子的气质。评估的结果是龋齿患病率和龋齿患病经历（dmft 评分）。纳入的协变量包括社会经济地位、致龋饮食、延长母乳喂养、牙菌斑和发育不全。使用逻辑回归模型预测龋齿患病率，使用负二项回归预测龋齿患病经历。ECC 的患病率为 29.1%，最常见的儿童气质是“努力控制”。回归模型分析，调整了协变量，儿童气质的任何领域（易激惹、负性情绪和努力控制）与龋齿患病率或龋齿患病经历之间均无关联。本横断面研究未发现该人群中儿童气质与 ECC 之间存在关联。然而，由于该人群的特殊性，不能完全排除这种关联。需要进一步的研究来帮助理解气质与口腔健康之间的关联，包括家庭环境因素和文化的影响。
